As a visionary talent who has continued to expand her musical boundaries and challenge herself and audiences over seven albums, Esperanza Spalding draws on a rich vein of Jazz music that focuses on healing the body, mind and spirit on ‘Songwrights Apothecary Lab’. Created with a shifting group of prodigious musicians, each numbered track or “formwela” is the result of extensive research, experimentation and planning according to specific intended end results. As an example, ‘Formwela’ is “For tuning oneself to expect and receive attunement when speaking intimately to the heart’s un-articulated needs.” Its acoustic guitar arpeggios and layered vocals are both soothing and engaging all at once, fitting neatly with the track’s objective. While these objectives add interesting layers to the music and each track acts almost as a self-contained piece, the album flows naturally and is an engaging album of experimental Jazz even to the uninitiated.